Abstract
This project draws on archival sources and oral histories to create a nuanced and layered account of the Gasworks site history and that of the surrounding suburbs, Newstead and Teneriffe.  Personal oral testimonies can enrich an area’s history by providing lived detail of day-to-day life. An understanding of the personal meanings associated with a suburb can serve to ‘reactivate’ a seemingly empty site such as the Gasworks, transforming space into place. Oral histories enrich historical accounts through emotional and sensory details, personalising public narratives. The project operates within a framework that acknowledges that there is no master historical narrative, only stories and ambiguities. Oral histories are not treated simply as a repository of facts or errors in facts, but rather as a complex fusing of past and present, interpretation and imagination. Gathering oral histories fosters the inclusion of a diversity of perspectives, opening a space in which silenced or marginalised voices can be heard.  The project also supports creative engagement with oral sources; the oral histories gathered will inform a number of works of historical fiction, bringing a depth and authenticity to imagined accounts of the urban space.

Team

• Dr Helen Klaebe
• Ariella Van Luyn (PhD Candidate)

Partners

• Australian Research Council
• FKP